Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters of Smallville or the X-Men, nor do I
own the concepts of either show, I'm just borrowing them for awhile. Erin is mine though.
Category: Crossover, possible Chloe/Clark Romance, Alternate Universe
Keywords: Chloe, X-Men, Xover. Mutant.
Spoilers: None that I can think of
Just A Girl: Chapter 1
by M
------------
Sitting on her bed, Chloe Sullivan balanced the laptop on her knees and stared at her email
program blankly. She'd promised to write Clark every day she was in Westchester but she'd only
managed to send a few short, very sketchy, notes since her arrival. That had been a month ago and
now she was going home in two days and still couldn't find anything to say.
Well, anything truthful.
She'd managed to write her father, actual letters that extended beyond the usual "it's nice here"
and into the truth of her experiences but that was different. He knew why she was here. He'd sent
her. But Clark, and Pete, didn't know. Pete she could fool in an email, and had, but Clark...he'd
know if she lied too much to him.
And in her emails she had to lie. How do you tell your best friend a truth that even you still couldn't
accept?
The young teen sighed heavily and closed the computer, pushing it aside.
She was a statistic. A victim of Smallville's "Curse of Weirdness." She belonged on her own
wall.
The Professor had tried to convince her that she wasn't; that the X-Factor gene had caused the
mutation and not her hometown's location. But Chloe wasn't sure, after all the things she'd seen
...she just couldn't be sure.
Not that knowing she was an 'ordinary mutant' was any consolation. Teen life was hard enough
without having to deal with superpowers!
She wished it had never happened to her. She wished that she'd never said yes when Sean'd
asked her out, if he hadn't he probably never would have tried to kill her. She wished Earl Gaines
hadn't been on Level III of the LuthorCorp plant during that accident; if he hadn't he wouldn't have
taken them all hostage and, again, nearly gotten her killed. She wished all of it had never happened.
Most teenagers didn't have to deal with two traumatic events like that in a lifetime never mind the
same *year*. Yet she had.
Which was probably what caused her mutation to activate when it did. The Professor had
theorized that on their own, none of the events had been enough to cause the mutation to emerge
but the combined stress, for such an extended period of time, had been the kicker. It'd sealed the
deal.
There was an upside. Her mutation wasn't one that was readily seen or always active and on-the-go
like some of the other kids in school. Chloe could go back to Smallville and pretend like everything
was normal without having to watch and guard every little thing she did. Sure she had to watch
*certain* things. Things that had been known to cause her power to activate but that was different.
She could handle that easily. Some of the kids had no control over whether or not their powers
were active all the time. They were the ones who would probably never be able to spend much
time away from the School or out of the reach of help, namely Professor Xavier or the X-Men.
Mutants who wouldn't ever really feel comfortable or safe amongst the 'normal' people in the
world. Mutants like Rogue.
Chloe sighed heavily when she thought about Rogue, so many conflicting emotions to deal with.
She was happy to be going home again, a little scared yes, but she would miss her newfound -
and very dear - friend. She couldn't help but feel guilty over leaving too. Rogue didn't have a lot
of friends and Chloe leaving meant one less. Even amongst a group of mutants, the other girl
stood out. Because of her mutation, a lot of the kids avoided getting too close, worrying that not
even the clothing that she almost swathed herself in would protect them from her life-draining
power. That wariness had left her to be somewhat of a loner with some groups. Bobby was there
for her but there weren't many girls...and sometimes, girls just need to talk to girls.
It was that whole situation that had brought them together. Chloe had never felt like 'one of the
crowd' in Smallville - even before her mutation - so she kind of understood how Marie had to
feel. Because of that, they'd grown close very quickly. So much so that going home was a
bittersweet prospect for her. She really was going to miss her friend terribly, but she
missed her other friends in Smallville terribly. It was a dilemma.
She sighed again. They'd promised to email but that wasn't as good...
A soft tap on the door interrupted her brooding and Chloe sat up, grateful for the intrusion. "Who
is it?"
"Erin. May I come in?"
The soft voice of one of her teachers made the teen smile and release the breath she hadn't known
she was holding. She'd been half-expecting/half-dreading the Professor, Ms. Grey, or Mr. Summers
would drop by and try and 'cheer her up'. She liked them just fine but she was always mindful of the
fact they were 'teachers'. With Erin it wasn't like that.
Erin Davies was only twenty and fresh from college. Like so many other mutants who'd attended
Xavier's School she'd finished high school early and had gone right through to university. There
often was little, if nothing waiting outside for the young mutants so they often kept going in an
attempt to feel 'anonymous'. But unlike others, she had returned to the school to teach; eager
to pay back some of what Xavier and the others had done for her. It was one thing, coupled with
her youth and generally relaxed demeanor, that resonated with her students. They liked her.
Responded to her.
"Sure." Quickly, Chloe checked her face to be sure she hadn't been crying or anything then
pasted on a cheery smile.
The tall blonde stepped into the room with two plates in hand and held them up with a smile.
"Want some cake?"
Chloe's eyes lit up. "Ooooh, yes!" She bounced up from the bed and took one, her smile widening
at the sight of the vanilla flavored cake covered with elaborate icing. "Thank you! I'm starving!"
"I thought as much." The elder mutant smiled as she dropped into the nearest chair, folding her
denim-clad legs beneath her. "You hardly touched dinner." Spearing a bite of cake, she directed
undue attention to her snack as she added. "Nervous?"
Swallowing, the teen nodded quickly. "Terrified actually." She licked a smudge of icing off her
lip. "I can't wait to go home but I'm terrified of what will happen when I get there. Like maybe
I'll freeze something or accidentally blow a car up in the middle of Main Street."
The mutation Chloe had developed was somewhat perplexing in that they weren't really sure
what to call it. She could, quite literally, stop time in localized areas or around an object in
particular but she'd also shown the ability to concentrate that same 'power' on something and
blow it to pieces. On the surface the two abilities seemed unconnected but the Professor had
other ideas. He was convinced the connection was there...they just had yet to find it.
"You aren't going to do that, Chlo'," Erin reassured. "You've demonstrated a remarkable level
of control for someone your age who's developed such a powerful mutation. It's really quite
remarkable. Believe me, the Professor wouldn't be sending you home if he wasn't sure you could
handle it."
"I'm *really* scared, Erin." The girl confessed miserably. "What if my friends find out? I mean,
if they find out and they don't want to know me anymore..."
The teacher's heart wrenched in empathy and she abandoned her cake to sit next to the younger
blonde, wrapping a sisterly arm around her slim shoulders. "I can't guarantee how your friends
will react but, from what you've told me, Clark and Pate would *never* abandon you." She
rested her head against Chloe's. "And even if they did, you'll always have friends here."
With a sniffle, Chloe smiled shakily. "I know. It's just..."
"Really hard."
"Yeah."
Erin rubbed her shoulders reassuringly. "It will be ok, Chloe, I can promise you that." She smiled
enigmatically. "You know that you'll always have a place here and we're just a plane ride away."
Leaning in she added in a stage whisper. "And if Jean distracts Scott, I can always sneak into the
Blackbird and fly out to Smallville...see what all the fuss is about."
The teen next to her let out a quivery laugh, unshed tears beneath the surface. "I wish I could see
Mr. Summers's face when he finds out you're planning to steal the jet..."
"Bah," the elder woman waved a dismissive hand. "Let him complain all he wants. The way he
flies, me stealing it would be an improvement."
"Is he really that bad?"
Erin nodded wisely. "Worse actually."
Chloe giggled again and shook her head. "You guys are nuts."
"But in a good way."
"Yeah in a good way." She affirmed, putting aside her cake and getting up. "I'm *really* going to
miss this place...Its...It's the only place I've felt..."
"Safe and accepted..." Erin finished for her. "I know the feeling." She moved to stand next to
Chloe at the window. "It's a very scary world out there for us now. I won't lie and say it's not.
You're too smart to be fooled." She exhaled slowly. "It won't be easy for you. Hiding what you
are from everyone...Here you don't have to do that. It's ok to be a mutant. Nobody here is afraid
of us."
"What was it like?" Chloe prompted, looking over. "When you first came here?"
Nostalgia filled the other woman's gaze. "I was terrified." She admitted honestly. "I was only
thirteen you see, and the move to the States was very traumatic for me and very, very, scary. It
took us a while to connect the dots about the things that were moving around the house every time
I was upset. But once it did...my father was upset, my mother cried. She blamed herself."
"Why?"
"My mother's a mutant too." The teacher looked down at her shoes for a long moment. "But
nothing like this. She could pass it off as some sort of psychic ability. No one realized what she
really was, not even she did. They thought it was all parlor tricks and good guesses. But with me,
the telekinesis was quite hard to miss."
"How'd you end up here?" Slipping into reporter mode, Chloe inadvertently began to relax.
"My father. The Professor contacted him one day...I still don't know for sure how he knew what
was going on but he did. He showed up in D.C. and the next thing I knew, I was on my way to
Westchester with him." Smiling, Erin reached out to trace a pattern on the glass. "It was absolutely
terrifying. I'd barely been in this country a month and all of a sudden I was on my way to a
school where everyone would know what I was and I couldn't hide...I thought it was the worst
day of my life."
"Obviously," The teen next to her spoke hesitantly, watching the elder woman's face carefully.
"It wasn't."
"No, it wasn't. I made some wonderful friends here and the teachers were great. The Professor
was amazing. He taught me how to control my powers and didn't even yell when I accidentally
broke things."
"You?!" Chloe boggled at that comment. "You broke things?" It seemed impossible. She'd seen
Erin using her telekinesis more than once and she'd always looked like it was absolutely
effortless to control it.
"Yeah I broke things." The taller blonde confirmed with a chuckle. "I accidentally threw an
expensive vase through a window. If Jean hadn't been there to keep it from hitting the patio...I
would have died of absolute embarrassment, plus I'd probably still be paying it off."
The younger woman flinched in sympathy. "I can imagine. That's what I keep worrying about..."
"I know. And it's good to worry - a little - it keeps you just that little bit more careful with your
reactions but don't go overboard Chloe. You're more responsible with your abilities than any of
the students I've seen here lately." Erin chuckled wryly. "You're more responsible with them
than any of us were at your age. Believe me, you're going to be fine."
Looking out at the trees, the fledgling mutant sighed heavily. "I wish I could believe that."
"You haven't had any problems with them for a while now, I can't see any reason why going
home would cause you to lose control."
An amused smile lit Chloe's face. "You've never been to Smallville."
own the concepts of either show, I'm just borrowing them for awhile. Erin is mine though.
Category: Crossover, possible Chloe/Clark Romance, Alternate Universe
Keywords: Chloe, X-Men, Xover. Mutant.
Spoilers: None that I can think of
Just A Girl: Chapter 1
by M
------------
Sitting on her bed, Chloe Sullivan balanced the laptop on her knees and stared at her email
program blankly. She'd promised to write Clark every day she was in Westchester but she'd only
managed to send a few short, very sketchy, notes since her arrival. That had been a month ago and
now she was going home in two days and still couldn't find anything to say.
Well, anything truthful.
She'd managed to write her father, actual letters that extended beyond the usual "it's nice here"
and into the truth of her experiences but that was different. He knew why she was here. He'd sent
her. But Clark, and Pete, didn't know. Pete she could fool in an email, and had, but Clark...he'd
know if she lied too much to him.
And in her emails she had to lie. How do you tell your best friend a truth that even you still couldn't
accept?
The young teen sighed heavily and closed the computer, pushing it aside.
She was a statistic. A victim of Smallville's "Curse of Weirdness." She belonged on her own
wall.
The Professor had tried to convince her that she wasn't; that the X-Factor gene had caused the
mutation and not her hometown's location. But Chloe wasn't sure, after all the things she'd seen
...she just couldn't be sure.
Not that knowing she was an 'ordinary mutant' was any consolation. Teen life was hard enough
without having to deal with superpowers!
She wished it had never happened to her. She wished that she'd never said yes when Sean'd
asked her out, if he hadn't he probably never would have tried to kill her. She wished Earl Gaines
hadn't been on Level III of the LuthorCorp plant during that accident; if he hadn't he wouldn't have
taken them all hostage and, again, nearly gotten her killed. She wished all of it had never happened.
Most teenagers didn't have to deal with two traumatic events like that in a lifetime never mind the
same *year*. Yet she had.
Which was probably what caused her mutation to activate when it did. The Professor had
theorized that on their own, none of the events had been enough to cause the mutation to emerge
but the combined stress, for such an extended period of time, had been the kicker. It'd sealed the
deal.
There was an upside. Her mutation wasn't one that was readily seen or always active and on-the-go
like some of the other kids in school. Chloe could go back to Smallville and pretend like everything
was normal without having to watch and guard every little thing she did. Sure she had to watch
*certain* things. Things that had been known to cause her power to activate but that was different.
She could handle that easily. Some of the kids had no control over whether or not their powers
were active all the time. They were the ones who would probably never be able to spend much
time away from the School or out of the reach of help, namely Professor Xavier or the X-Men.
Mutants who wouldn't ever really feel comfortable or safe amongst the 'normal' people in the
world. Mutants like Rogue.
Chloe sighed heavily when she thought about Rogue, so many conflicting emotions to deal with.
She was happy to be going home again, a little scared yes, but she would miss her newfound -
and very dear - friend. She couldn't help but feel guilty over leaving too. Rogue didn't have a lot
of friends and Chloe leaving meant one less. Even amongst a group of mutants, the other girl
stood out. Because of her mutation, a lot of the kids avoided getting too close, worrying that not
even the clothing that she almost swathed herself in would protect them from her life-draining
power. That wariness had left her to be somewhat of a loner with some groups. Bobby was there
for her but there weren't many girls...and sometimes, girls just need to talk to girls.
It was that whole situation that had brought them together. Chloe had never felt like 'one of the
crowd' in Smallville - even before her mutation - so she kind of understood how Marie had to
feel. Because of that, they'd grown close very quickly. So much so that going home was a
bittersweet prospect for her. She really was going to miss her friend terribly, but she
missed her other friends in Smallville terribly. It was a dilemma.
She sighed again. They'd promised to email but that wasn't as good...
A soft tap on the door interrupted her brooding and Chloe sat up, grateful for the intrusion. "Who
is it?"
"Erin. May I come in?"
The soft voice of one of her teachers made the teen smile and release the breath she hadn't known
she was holding. She'd been half-expecting/half-dreading the Professor, Ms. Grey, or Mr. Summers
would drop by and try and 'cheer her up'. She liked them just fine but she was always mindful of the
fact they were 'teachers'. With Erin it wasn't like that.
Erin Davies was only twenty and fresh from college. Like so many other mutants who'd attended
Xavier's School she'd finished high school early and had gone right through to university. There
often was little, if nothing waiting outside for the young mutants so they often kept going in an
attempt to feel 'anonymous'. But unlike others, she had returned to the school to teach; eager
to pay back some of what Xavier and the others had done for her. It was one thing, coupled with
her youth and generally relaxed demeanor, that resonated with her students. They liked her.
Responded to her.
"Sure." Quickly, Chloe checked her face to be sure she hadn't been crying or anything then
pasted on a cheery smile.
The tall blonde stepped into the room with two plates in hand and held them up with a smile.
"Want some cake?"
Chloe's eyes lit up. "Ooooh, yes!" She bounced up from the bed and took one, her smile widening
at the sight of the vanilla flavored cake covered with elaborate icing. "Thank you! I'm starving!"
"I thought as much." The elder mutant smiled as she dropped into the nearest chair, folding her
denim-clad legs beneath her. "You hardly touched dinner." Spearing a bite of cake, she directed
undue attention to her snack as she added. "Nervous?"
Swallowing, the teen nodded quickly. "Terrified actually." She licked a smudge of icing off her
lip. "I can't wait to go home but I'm terrified of what will happen when I get there. Like maybe
I'll freeze something or accidentally blow a car up in the middle of Main Street."
The mutation Chloe had developed was somewhat perplexing in that they weren't really sure
what to call it. She could, quite literally, stop time in localized areas or around an object in
particular but she'd also shown the ability to concentrate that same 'power' on something and
blow it to pieces. On the surface the two abilities seemed unconnected but the Professor had
other ideas. He was convinced the connection was there...they just had yet to find it.
"You aren't going to do that, Chlo'," Erin reassured. "You've demonstrated a remarkable level
of control for someone your age who's developed such a powerful mutation. It's really quite
remarkable. Believe me, the Professor wouldn't be sending you home if he wasn't sure you could
handle it."
"I'm *really* scared, Erin." The girl confessed miserably. "What if my friends find out? I mean,
if they find out and they don't want to know me anymore..."
The teacher's heart wrenched in empathy and she abandoned her cake to sit next to the younger
blonde, wrapping a sisterly arm around her slim shoulders. "I can't guarantee how your friends
will react but, from what you've told me, Clark and Pate would *never* abandon you." She
rested her head against Chloe's. "And even if they did, you'll always have friends here."
With a sniffle, Chloe smiled shakily. "I know. It's just..."
"Really hard."
"Yeah."
Erin rubbed her shoulders reassuringly. "It will be ok, Chloe, I can promise you that." She smiled
enigmatically. "You know that you'll always have a place here and we're just a plane ride away."
Leaning in she added in a stage whisper. "And if Jean distracts Scott, I can always sneak into the
Blackbird and fly out to Smallville...see what all the fuss is about."
The teen next to her let out a quivery laugh, unshed tears beneath the surface. "I wish I could see
Mr. Summers's face when he finds out you're planning to steal the jet..."
"Bah," the elder woman waved a dismissive hand. "Let him complain all he wants. The way he
flies, me stealing it would be an improvement."
"Is he really that bad?"
Erin nodded wisely. "Worse actually."
Chloe giggled again and shook her head. "You guys are nuts."
"But in a good way."
"Yeah in a good way." She affirmed, putting aside her cake and getting up. "I'm *really* going to
miss this place...Its...It's the only place I've felt..."
"Safe and accepted..." Erin finished for her. "I know the feeling." She moved to stand next to
Chloe at the window. "It's a very scary world out there for us now. I won't lie and say it's not.
You're too smart to be fooled." She exhaled slowly. "It won't be easy for you. Hiding what you
are from everyone...Here you don't have to do that. It's ok to be a mutant. Nobody here is afraid
of us."
"What was it like?" Chloe prompted, looking over. "When you first came here?"
Nostalgia filled the other woman's gaze. "I was terrified." She admitted honestly. "I was only
thirteen you see, and the move to the States was very traumatic for me and very, very, scary. It
took us a while to connect the dots about the things that were moving around the house every time
I was upset. But once it did...my father was upset, my mother cried. She blamed herself."
"Why?"
"My mother's a mutant too." The teacher looked down at her shoes for a long moment. "But
nothing like this. She could pass it off as some sort of psychic ability. No one realized what she
really was, not even she did. They thought it was all parlor tricks and good guesses. But with me,
the telekinesis was quite hard to miss."
"How'd you end up here?" Slipping into reporter mode, Chloe inadvertently began to relax.
"My father. The Professor contacted him one day...I still don't know for sure how he knew what
was going on but he did. He showed up in D.C. and the next thing I knew, I was on my way to
Westchester with him." Smiling, Erin reached out to trace a pattern on the glass. "It was absolutely
terrifying. I'd barely been in this country a month and all of a sudden I was on my way to a
school where everyone would know what I was and I couldn't hide...I thought it was the worst
day of my life."
"Obviously," The teen next to her spoke hesitantly, watching the elder woman's face carefully.
"It wasn't."
"No, it wasn't. I made some wonderful friends here and the teachers were great. The Professor
was amazing. He taught me how to control my powers and didn't even yell when I accidentally
broke things."
"You?!" Chloe boggled at that comment. "You broke things?" It seemed impossible. She'd seen
Erin using her telekinesis more than once and she'd always looked like it was absolutely
effortless to control it.
"Yeah I broke things." The taller blonde confirmed with a chuckle. "I accidentally threw an
expensive vase through a window. If Jean hadn't been there to keep it from hitting the patio...I
would have died of absolute embarrassment, plus I'd probably still be paying it off."
The younger woman flinched in sympathy. "I can imagine. That's what I keep worrying about..."
"I know. And it's good to worry - a little - it keeps you just that little bit more careful with your
reactions but don't go overboard Chloe. You're more responsible with your abilities than any of
the students I've seen here lately." Erin chuckled wryly. "You're more responsible with them
than any of us were at your age. Believe me, you're going to be fine."
Looking out at the trees, the fledgling mutant sighed heavily. "I wish I could believe that."
"You haven't had any problems with them for a while now, I can't see any reason why going
home would cause you to lose control."
An amused smile lit Chloe's face. "You've never been to Smallville."